Something Like This
by XrhiaX
Summary: Post-New Earth. There was something that Cassandra did in her body that Rose wanted to remember. It's only right that the Doctor should help her recall what it was. Fun little 10Rose One-shot.


The Doctor shut the blue-painted wooden doors of his TARDIS, having solved yet another mystery and righted another injustice today. Cassandra had died, but that was okay. He turned and saw Rose sitting near the console, heels of her hands against the edge of her seat, leaning forward, deep in thought. He knew exactly what she was thinking about, too. Earlier, when Rose had disappeared into the back rooms of the TARDIS for something, he had taken the opportunity to have a final word with Cassandra.

He shouldn't have had to ask it - his Time Lord instincts should have picked it up immediately, that Rose wasn't herself earlier - but wishful thinking must have clouded his judgment. He had simply had to ask, even if he already partially knew the answer.

"_Cassandra, small thing, just curious," _he'd asked, glancing over his shoulder, hoping his companion wouldn't come back in the middle of this conversation. Cassandra, in Chip's body, had been weak, seated right where Rose was sitting now, and he'd put a hand on their shoulder to help steady them. _"Earlier, when you … or Rose … it was you that snogged me earlier, wasn't it?"_

Cassandra had looked up, confused, and then she had given an almost smug smile - back to herself quite quickly, he'd noted mentally. Cassandra had given a weak, single laugh. _"Yes, that was me," _she had drawled breathily, and then followed up with, _"Don't look so disappointed, though," _after catching onto the falter in the Doctor's wan smile. _"It wasn't her idea, but she wasn't … expressly … opposed to it," _Cassandra had drawn in a few long gasps, obviously feeling lightheaded.

The Doctor had tilted his head back and given a thoughtful nod of his own. _"Right," _he had replied slowly.

"_Poor thing, she tried to commit it to memory," _Cassandra had gone on, smiling a bit wider, _"But she couldn't quite figure out how to do that."_

At this, the Doctor's brows had shot up in understanding. He'd felt a bit disappointed, realizing that Rose didn't remember much of what had happened throughout the day. He had breathed a sigh, and sat down beside Cassandra, who was now struggling with a wheezy laugh. Putting an arm around Chip's shoulders to keep them steady, the Doctor had raised his free hand to rub his chin in thought. _"So she won't remember most of the things you did, or … said."_

Cassandra had nodded choppily. _"Not in her body, no. Poor child, no idea how to use her brain," _she'd looked down, a hint of her old self returning to her. _"You, though - you're the complete opposite. You remember everything, don't you?" _she had shot the Time Lord a knowing look.

The Doctor had only grinned, unable to help himself. He'd remembered Cassandra outing Rose on what she thought of his new form, calling him 'slim, and a little bit foxy'. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't felt his ego inflating a bit at that. Rose hadn't denied having taken a liking to the new look, either. The TARDIS had landed then, and Cassandra had gone to die in her own arms.

It was an interesting death, to say the least. Done now - she was gone.

"You alright?" the Doctor asked, strolling back up toward the control panels of his wonderful ship. Maybe she was having trouble re-adjusting to having her body to herself; Cassandra had said that Rose had no idea how to fight a foreign consciousness, so maybe she was having trouble ridding herself of some left-overs, perhaps old memories of Cassandra's. "Trouble re-adjusting?" he continued, his voice both curious and conversational.

Rose screwed up her face, pouting a bit, looking frustrated. "No," she replied, reluctant. "Just … feel like I forgot something I wanted to remember," she stared at him, brows coming down hard. She must have had a vague idea of it - that she, or Cassandra, had kissed him - but she just couldn't remember it. The Doctor gave a smile, turning away from her. Rose grunted in irritation and stood up, wandering over to him.

Of course she would want to remember it. He'd be an idiot not to realize that she was attracted to him, and he'd be a liar to say he wasn't interested in her, too. Things were made complicated, though by the fact that they were two completely different species biologically, as well as her being his best friend, his traveling companion. For the most part, the Doctor played it dumb and pretended not to notice, in order to keep things as comfortable as possible.

But it was just the one kiss, wasn't it? It had been her body - it was actually quite unfair for her not to remember it. She obviously wanted to hold on to the memory. If Cassandra had done something a bit more risqué, not with him - he would've noticed something amiss, if she'd tried - but with anyone, it would be Rose's right to remember, to know.

"It's weird, you know?" Rose said, leaning against the control panel beside him, shaking her head in disbelief, "She got to be in my head, read my thoughts and stuff, and I can't even remember stuff she did in my body. She's technically human, too, so I can't even say she used alien-magic."

The Doctor laughed, hands running over the buttons and levers before him and setting a flight course for their next destination. "Alien-magic, that's a new one. What exactly is that, then?" he glanced over to her, grinning expectantly.

Rose laughed, too. "Oh, I dunno," she thought about it for a short moment, then continued, "Like alien telepathy or something. I mean, she's not biologically superior to me, you know? She's technically got the same physical make-up. I guess I'm just a ditz," she pulled her mouth to one side and sighed through her nose, sounding disappointed.

The Doctor suddenly interjected, "Well … she's from a time that five-billion year more advanced than yours, you know. Her life span's probably been ten times yours. Why wouldn't she be more adept at using a human brain? Neuroscience keeps evolving after your time," he reasoned.

Rose snorted a laugh. "Thanks. I feel so much better now," she scoffed sarcastically. "Now the way I use my brain is being compared to a pensioner using a laptop," she shook her head, slightly annoyed, but still amused.

The Doctor turned to face her, still smiling. "So, what'd you reckon it was that you wanted to remember?" he suddenly asked, his tone jovial.

Rose's expression drooped a bit, and she looked like she was thinking hard. "I dunno," she looked away, and drew her lower lip between her teeth. "It's like when you forget a dream, you know? Harder you try to remember, more of it you forget," she trailed off awkwardly, and the Doctor felt his smile breaking into a thoughtful grin.

"Was it something like this?" the Doctor suggested curiously, suddenly leaning over toward Rose.

Rose was suddenly aware of how close they were, that he didn't even have to move his feet to be in her space. She opened her mouth, confused, to ask what he meant, and before any words got out, his lips were against hers, and her eyes were fluttering shut. Her whole body went rigid in surprise, before she felt herself melting into him. The Doctor kept his hands in his pockets, and Rose's hands were holding her up against the control panel of the TARDIS, so she couldn't move them up into his hair, as she wanted to.

Rose opened her mouth into the kiss, tasting him on her lips, feeling the discreet sweep of his tongue against hers. Adrenaline suddenly exploded in her head, making her dizzy, as well as a flood of endorphins coursing through her, causing a tickling feeling across her scalp and bringing the hairs on the back of her neck to prickle. She didn't know if he'd just jogged her memory, or if it was some effect of his Time Lord mind, but she suddenly remembered what she had been trying to.

She remembered Cassandra being in her body, grabbing the Doctor by the neck and smacking her lips to his, breathing him in. With disappointment, she realized that he hadn't kissed her back, when it had been Cassandra, but maybe that was better. She wouldn't want nasty old Cassandra to get a kiss with him, anyway. And, although he hadn't kissed her back, he hadn't pulled away, either. He had let it last as long as it had, making no move to push her off. And the look on his face when Cassandra had let him go - well, that was just priceless.

The last Time Lord, the brilliant Doctor; lost for words and completely stunned. She could see why she'd wanted to remember it, and now she did. The feel of his hair between her fingers, the taste of his kiss - amplified by the fact that they were kissing right now, too - the smell of apple grass on his coat. The remembered just how much he had to crane his neck in order to let her snog him. It actually must have been quite uncomfortable.

But he was kissing her now, as well! Oh, this was mental. It was dreamlike, really. The two kisses were different, she noticed; earlier, Cassandra had kissed him and he'd made no move to end it, no move to escalate it. He must have known something was odd. This kiss, he had started, in the most innocent of ways, and he was only barely participating with a few subtle movements of his lips or tongue that he must have thought she didn't notice.

And just as quick as it had begun, it was over. The Doctor pulled back, smiling innocently at her, and she was still for a moment, her eyes still closed. She swallowed the dry feeling in her throat and blinked her eyes open, to see him watching her intently. Rose had forgotten that he had said anything before the kiss, until she realized he was looking at her _expectantly._

"Y-Yeah," Rose suddenly said, her eyes fixed on his. "Like … like that," she squeaked, and then cleared her throat against that kind of noise.

It took a tremendous amount of effort on the Doctor's part not to grin. "Remember now?" he asked innocently, his lips still wet from the kiss drawing her eye down to them.

Unable to manage a verbal reply, Rose gave a nod; sure she must look really stupid, staring at him like a slack-jawed moron. "Um … thanks," she said, averting her gaze from him and feeling the temperature of her cheeks rising quickly.

The Doctor did grin, this time, and went back to fiddling with the buttons in front of him. "Not a problem," he replied cheerfully, "Your body, your mind, your memories. Why shouldn't you remember?" he reasoned, and reached over, away from her, to flip a switch over.

Rose stared at him for a moment, and drew in a long, cool breath, fighting off the adrenaline she felt. "Right," she agreed mindlessly, still caught up in surprise. "Whoo …" she exhaled heavily, pushing her brow up and shaking her head a bit.

The Doctor heard a repeating thought in his head. _Yep. Still got it._

"Right! Hold on!" he grabbed a lever and hiked it upward, his tongue sticking out between his teeth in concentration as the TARDIS ripped though the Time Vortex into their next adventure, hurling the both of them to the floor, filling the control room with fits of giggles.


End file.
